So a privileged creature of civilization, the white sybarite of the comfortable boomer generation, has decided to “get back to the land.” They already tried it in the hippie days, but never mind, this recycled idea has merit what with property values these days, and with retirement looming on the horizon, why not re-land oneself within the neo-romantic crucible of forest, beach and fen? After all, the Canadian wilderness is endless, and everyone is entitled to those magnificent vistas of sunrise and sunset, the wide open spaces to let loose, “be who you are,” and fully express one's inner “lord or lady of the manor” that has been caged up for so long.

Based on boredom with one’s own whitestream or the hillbillies in a particular area, what is questionable about this "back to the land" movement is to purchase property right next to First Nations reserves as a way to exotify oneself. Then, to go on and brag about being so urbane, sophisticated, multicultural, and “spiritual” that one has had the foresight to position oneself right next to the “tribal,” and to benefit from the romanticization of the “other” in an attempt to make oneself or one’s business more interesting and palatable to other culturally-starved and spiritually-deprived white people. Then of course, the “gentrification” of the colonizer/colonized relationship allows the neo-liberal boomer-zoomer to claim there is “cultural diversity” in their neck of the woods, which makes everything just so much more inclusive, and colourblind, and “one tribe” and kumbaya!

Desperate to put food on the table or make some sort of progress in the alien “white world” the zoomers may find a willing person (“token”) from native community to support their scheme, as "don’t you know, so and so is on board with our project, so that makes it 100% alright!" And of course the Settler interlopers and cultural tourists would not think of helping the First Nations community as a whole, or fighting in the trenches, or conducting allyship or solidarity with First Nations struggles, as that is way too far beneath them. Rallies, marches, mobilizing and political actions are no place for fashion statements, artistic expressions, great music or food - and getting their “hands dirty” with social activism would only tarnish the exotic representation of Native People they are so carefully constructing to bring in the business.

Never mind that the First Nations community is still in the throes of recovery from 500 years of cultural genocide, oppression, displacement, racist microaggressions and land theft, that’s just so “all in the past!” Let's just keep quiet about that, for when it comes to obnoxious white privileged opportunists and snake-oil sellers, it’s truly about “me-me-me!”